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The story of Jonah is about the compassionate God whose mercy has no geographical, cultural, political, and economic frontier. The dialogue between God and Jonah (Jonah 4:1-11), which is considered the climax of the Book of Jonah, is an invitation to overcome intolerance and to cultivate compassion. The dialogue consists of two main parts: the anger of Jonah (v. 1-5) and the compassion of God (v. 6-11). In the dialogue, Jonah becomes angry, but God responds to him with two questions: “Is it good for you to be angry?” (v. 4) and “Is it good for you to be angry about the plant?” (v. 9) which indicate the limitless and universal mercy of God. In this way, the story of Jonah invites us to the pilgrimage of tolerance and compassion.

The past as prologue: The Reformation and the future of Christian dialogue, by Rev Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, World Council of Churches general secretary, in Minneapolis and Collegeville, 8 and 10 September 2017

Lecture by the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit at the Ev. Akademie Hofgeismar in Germany.

Keynote address by Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, WCC deputy general secretary, at the Consultative meeting towards developing the Ecumenical Health Strategy, 27 February 2017, Maseru, Lesotho.

Keynote address by Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, WCC deputy general secretary, at the Consultative meeting towards developing the Ecumenical Health Strategy, 27 February 2017, Maseru, Lesotho.

Keynote address by Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, WCC deputy general secretary, at the Consultative meeting towards developing the Ecumenical Health Strategy, 27 February 2017, Maseru, Lesotho.

The final reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri.  Dr Phiri is the deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and responsible for WCC’s work on Public Witness and Diakonia. A Malawian by nationality, Apawo Phiri was a professor of African theology, dean and head of the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, and director of the Centre for Constructive Theology at the University of KwaZulu Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  In this reflection she explains the concept of a ‘blue community’ and points out why the bottled water industry is an impediment to the human right to water. She then takes us through the journey of the WCC into becoming a blue community through one of its ecumenical initiatives, the EWN.

The 3rd reflection of the Lenten Campaign: Seven Weeks for Water 2017 of the Word Council of Churches’ (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) is by Rev. O. Kolade Fadahunsi. Rev. Kolade is the Executive Director of Nigeria’s Kairos Foundation. He is also the programme associate for the national food security project of the Christian Council of Nigeria.  In the following reflection he underlines the inter-dependency of water and food security, given that 70 per cent of fresh water is used for food production and one third of food produced goes to waste.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit's panel contribution during a conference at a cultural center in Trondheim, Norway.

Speech by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, in Bethlehem on 8 December 2016.

Message from a Regional Consultation on Human Right to Water in Africa, organised by the Ecumenical Water Network of the World Council of Churches, from 27-29 November 2016.

Speech by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit on 27 October 2016, at the Peterskirche, the University Church of Heidelberg.

As António Guterres of Portugal was named the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations, the World Council of Churches (WCC) congratulated him on his appointment.

Speech by Ahmed al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey on 1 October 2016.